I've also written, at least once (in a string quartet), ledger lines for the purpose of awkwardness with a direction not to pencil in the notes. An artistic choice where I'm happy if it's misread!
Steve P. > On 15 Apr 2014, at 13:03, David Froom <dfr...@smcm.edu> wrote: > >> On 14 Apr 2014, at 1:00 PM, Darcy Argue wrote: >> >> Right. To be clear, these players are only talking about C clefs in new >> music. And I actually think most of this is actually a proxy complaint for >> "too many ill-considered clef changes." > > This is the crux, as Robert Patterson noted. And "ill-considered" means > understanding what each player is accustomed to seeing. It isn't just clefs, > but also when to use ledger lines and when to use 8va/vb. And when/where to > change clefs. Cellists, for example, will not want tenor clef much below the > staff midline A, and especially not lots of ledger lines above the staff in > tenor clef. But for passages that lie between that midline A and a tenth > above, tenor is what they want, especially if the passage leans towards the > top of that range (towards the bottom of that range, and bass clef is > better). I am also talking about NYC new music players here. And treble clef > for cello really shouldn't happen below midline B. When I see "middle" C in > treble clef for cello, I know there will be complaints. Likewise, rapid back > and forth among clefs. > > As for ledger lines versus 8va/vb, again, that's instrument by instrument. > Flutists are very happy with five or six ledger lines above the staff, but > for extended passages in and above that range, violinists and pianists tell > me they'd rather see 8va. For very low notes, tuba players are happy with > five or six ledger lines, but pianists want 8vb, even for single notes. But, > generally, 8va/vb rapidly changing back and forth to loco, or used for > passages that go much into the "normal" reading range, are clumsy. > > As long as I've been doing this, when I have even the slightest doubt about a > particular instrument's preference for clefs or 8va/vb, I still ask an > experienced player. There is a norm for each instrument, but no universal > all-instruments rule except "avoid ill-considered" choices. What I see as a > teacher is students assuming their own instrument's expectations will apply, > and that's where ill-considered choices happen. > > This whole thing is part of the craft of composing. The score and parts that > give people well-considered choices in this regard will earn the composer > respect right away, and result in a better performance, happier experience. > Even one or two poor choices will create, for the players, a seed of doubt > about all the other choices. The performance will suffer, and so will the > composer's reputation. > > This applies also to ill-considered choices in use of accidentals, bad page > turns, poor spacing choices, bad decisions about meters or score layout, and > many, many other things that an audience will never see. But those are whole > other discussions. > > David Froom > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > Finale@shsu.edu > https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: > finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: finale-unsubscr...@shsu.edu
